Art towards reconciliation

International exhibition organised by the Gernika Museum, Gernika Gogoratuz and the Gernika Cultural Centre which looks at the relationship between art and constructing world peace and contribution can be made.

Little has been written about art and reconciliation. This could be the first exhibition that considers the theme from an international perspective.

Aggression, belligerance, war and violence have proven to be poor ways of resolving disputes.

Reconciliation of differences guarantees a peace which is far more positive than the ‘peace’ created after the atrocities of war. This is becoming increasingly clear to vast numbers of people in the world, but the systems in which we live are like mammoth ships on a collision course that seem to take forever to affect the proper manouver. But, if mindful of the terrible consequences, slowly, ever slowly and steadily, the wheel will move round. I’m betting that the ship will turn. (…)

The journey of realism, social comment, new images of man, began to include an art -figurative and non-figurative, expressionist and realist-of great compassion, understanding and insight. Importantly works on paper and specifically prints have been central to this dialogue and have often individually and cumulatively made the most powerful statements about society. This has sometimes led the atist into difficulties with authorities.

The story of repression and exclussion was repeated in nazi Germany. Fascist Sapin and Italy, Romania, Russia, in South Africa under apartheid. Tibet under China (and China under China for that matter) and in democratic America (under Eisenhower with the notorious McCarthy hearings)and later under Nixon.I continues in many parts of the world today either overtly, with officialbans, banishment, imprisonment, or covertly with withdrawal of support, removal of artworks from view, etc.

Some artists have been in exile, others have lived through periods of war, oppression and great violence, and others have been keen observers and supporters of the human condition -gratly troubled by what they are seeing. Artists here are part of the coalescing of humanist expression which will lead us closer to the understanding of reconciliation.

It will almost certainly be said of this century that its most compelling, possibly even ultimately predominant expression, will be that of Humanism -not guided by style, ideology or narrow content- but guided by art sensitive and responsive to the human condition, and born of a deep and abiding commitment to humankind and the planet it lives on. (…)

This exhibition identifies a number of sources -springs as it were, releasing lakes which long ago began to grow into small stream-sand even now as I write this piece, they converge-creating rivers. This confluences will sustain the notion of human dignity and reconciliation. Not surprisingly, they have started flowing from places of war, of apartheid, of racism, of colonial power, of genocide, of religious and social intolerance, and also from places of relative peace. This exhibitions maps on such a journey of ideas as the river is formed at Gernika-Berradiskidetzerako Gernikako itsasadar-bidea.

They are created by artists who feel deeply and whose art starts to provide stepping off point for issues ‘towards reconciliation’. Artists from China & Tibet, Indogenous African and Afrikaner, Basque and Spanish, Basque and German, African American and Caucasian American, Aboriginal and European Australian artists participate in this exhibition as well as Austrian, Germans and British. The intention, as I understand it, is to selct work which addresses specific concerns (which have universal implications) and which, cumulatively, help establish a further building block towards better understanding of reconciliation.

William Kelly